About us

We independently fund and support promising research in areas of great clinical need but where there is low investment, creating the conditions required to take the improvement of human health to new and exciting frontiers.

Apply for funding

We exist to fund research and we want to help support you – the rising stars and the champions of the medical research world.

We know that you’re best placed to help us change medicine and change lives. Find out what current funding opportunities there are.

We provide support for research grants, infrastructure and equipment grants, fellowships and studentships, skill-sharing and collaborations, and the dissemination of research results. Unlike many other funding bodies, we are not restricted in having to support a particular disease area or institution.

Peter Horlock Travel Bursary

Peter Horlock travel bursary for early career UK technical workers in the field of PET radiochemistry.

Alexander Fleming Dissemination Scheme

Applications are sought for Alexander Fleming Dissemination Awards that provide support for the dissemination of MRC and Medical Research Foundation-funded research results beyond the scientific peer reviewed press, to patients, participants, practitioners and policy makers.

Emerging Leaders Prize

Our Board of Trustees decides our funding strategy. The Board takes into account the wishes of individual donors, as well as current health and research needs. They take advice from the MRC and other leading scientists.

We decide on the eligibility criteria for each funding call on the basis of our funding strategy and focus, and they may also reflect our donors' wishes.

We believe that the post-PhD period is the most vulnerable career stage for a medical researcher but also the most creative and productive. We want to ensure that the very brightest and best of the UK’s medical research community have long and pioneering careers that make a difference to peoples’ health and lives. Where we can, we use our funds to support the emerging research leaders of the future.

By investing in people like you, we provide a platform to develop your research independence and increase your likelihood of securing longer-term, larger scale investments from the major research funders in areas that are important to us and our donors.